Muller 1

Kaitlyn Muller
Ms. Dill
British Literature
10 March 2023
Assertive Anonymous
Anonymous, the author of the epic poem Beowulf, uses biblical allusions, character
archetypes, and symbolic archetypes to insert the fact that he is a Christian monk. Anonymous
uses biblical allusions as direct references to biblical stories and characters to enlighten the
readers of Christianity. A monk would infuse allusions to continue the Anglo-Saxons' conversion
to Christianity. For example, in the case of the monster Grendel, Anonymous refers to him as a
part of the lineage of Cain: “conceived by a pair of monsters born / [o]f Cain” (ll 20-21). The
Christian monk uses the biblical allusion, the story of Cain and Abel, to emphasize the terror of
Grendel. The comparison of Cain, the first murderer in the Bible, conveys the extent of
Beowulf’s opponent’s evil. The scribe inserts the biblical allusion into context the reader
understands in order to enhance Christianity in their life. In like manner, Anonymous opens by
describing, “the ancient beginnings of us all, recalling / [t]he Almighty making the Earth” (ll
7-8). The background information of Canto 1 is strikingly similar to the beginning of the Book of
Genesis. The use of the word “beginning” is found in both Canto 1 and Genesis: “In the
beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). The Christian monk creates the
biblical allusion to once again showcase Christianity to the reader in order to show his religion.
Further, the use of “the Almighty” in Canto 1 also inserts the Christian God upon the reader by
using a common name for God. The biblical allusions, inserted by the scribe, replace the pagan
allusions once found in the epic. The undoubtful use of Bible references in Beowulf speaks to the
fact that Anonymous is a Christian, inserting his own beliefs.
Similarly, Anonymous brings Christianity into the epic through the character archetype, a
Christ-like figure. The author infuses Christian beliefs through the admirable characteristics of
Beowulf, which are similar to the characteristics of the Son of God, to spread Christianity. The
archetype consists of a character that demonstrates the qualities of Jesus Christ and goes through
events likewise to the ones Jesus did. For instance, Beowulf “[fights] a dragon who, angry
because a thief has stolen a jeweled cup from [his] hoard of gold, is laying waste to the Geats’
land” (Raffel 42). Beowulf has not committed a crime himself but instead sacrifices himself for
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the sake of the Geats. In the rest of the Canto, the King of the Geats fights his final battle,
although not without defeating the dragon and claiming the beast’s treasure. Beowulf embodies a
Christ-like archetype by “sacrificing [himself] in some way for others (your life is best)” (Foster
129). In the Christian Bible, Jesus sacrifices his life for the sake of his people, despite living a
sinless life. The Christian monk writing the epic uses this characteristic to specifically portray
Beowulf as a Christ-like figure hence imposing Christian ideals on the reader. Unsurprisingly,
Anonymous, as a Christian monk, uses more than one characteristic to show the reader Christian
values. Another example is the Christ-like figure characteristic of using aphorisms or “a concise,
sometimes witty saying that expresses a principle, truth, or observation about life” (Handbook
1189). In Canto 4, Anonymous writes, “ Might think less of me if I let my sword / Go where my
feet were afraid to” (ll. 171-172). Beowulf states a supposedly obvious fact but the Danes
listening did not understand it to be an obvious fact. Beowulf proclaims he will not fight with a
sword or weapon since Grendel only fights with his hands. The aphorism in these lines is that
good must conquer evil on equal grounds. In the book of John, Jesus says, “the Son can do
nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing” (John 5:19). Jesus tells his
onlookers this statement, a truth about life, which is very obvious to him; although, this
statement took his followers by surprise. The aphorism is about the Christian principles and way
of life. Anonymous clearly writes aphorisms into Beowulf’s speech in order to relate him more
to the Messiah. The use of aphorisms throughout the conversation is a characteristic of a
Christ-like figure. All things considered, Anonymous writes many characteristics into Beowulf
that align with Jesus, adding support to the writer’s identity as a Christian monk.
In like fashion, the author of Beowulf uses the Devil archetype to infuse values of his
religion into the reader because of his occupation as a Christian monk. Anonymous uses the
monsters that Beowulf fights to fulfill the character archetype of the Devil Figure. By creating a
Devil figure in his epic, Anonymous further exposes the readers to the Christian religion. In
particular, Anonymous portrays Grendel, the first monster, as a Devil-like figure in Canto 4
writing “God, / whose love Grendel could not know.” (ll. 170-171). Grendel is raging terror on
Herot at night, and he destroys all of the hall except for Hrothgar’s throne. God loves Hrothgar
and therefore protects him, on the other hand, God does not love Grendel. The evidence above
shows how Grendel is the “evil incarnate” or Devil Figure in this Canto (“Character
Archetypes”). Using Grendel as the Devil, helps the Christian monk demonstrate Christian
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values, specifically what was unacceptable. The second monster that Beowulf fights is Grendel’s
mother who is seeking revenge for the death of her son. Anonymous writes, “her guest /
[d]iscovered that no sword could slice her evil” (ll. 598-599). As Beowulf attacks Grendel’s
mother, he discovers that his sword, the Hrunting, nor any human-made swords can slay the
monster. The only sword able to kill Grendel’s mother is found in her home, made by giants who
are not humans. A common characteristic of the Devil archetype is not being human. In the Book
of Ezekiel, the author says “You were anointed as a guardian cherub” in regards to Satan before
he fell from Heaven (Ezekiel 28: 14). A cherub, or angelic being who attends to God, is most
definitely not a human and therefore supports the characteristic of the Devil archetype. The
Christian monk utilizes the nonhuman aspect of Grendel’s mother to correlate her to the Devil
with the purpose of displaying Christian ideals. Another way the writer demonstrates Christian
values is in Beowulf’s final battle where the Dragon is described as “coiled and uncoiled” by the
poet (l. 711). The Dragon is Beowulf’s last opponent as Beowulf eventually dies, although the
Christ-like figure does defeat the Dragon. The use of the word “coil” can remind readers of a
snake, which can coil and uncoil its body. The snake is used as a symbol of evil in the Bible:
“The women said, ‘The serpent deceived me, and I ate’” (Genesis 3: 13). The woman, Eve,
admits to the evil doings of the serpent and that he manipulated her. The poet uses this similarity
to show that the Dragon represents the Devil. Assuring the fact that Dragon is the evil seen in
Canto 14, helps the Christian monk in his goal to spread Christianity. Throughout Beowulf,
Anonymous uses the Devil archetype to continue exposing the readers to Christianity.
Anonymous uses the symbolic archetypes of Light versus Darkness, and Heaven versus
Hell in order to expose the reader to Christianity due to his position as a Christian monk. To start
off, Anonymous describes the place Grendel lives as “Deep in murky darkness his miserable /
End, as hell opened to receive him” (ll. 535-536). The clear description of the dreary place that
Grendel resides in, shows the reader that evil is found in a place like his. The darkness
mentioned refers to the “unknown, ignorance, [and] despair” found in Grendel (“Symbolic
Archetypes”). The negative connotation of darkness along with the mention of hell leads the
reader to view Grendel, the Devil-like Figure, in a negative light, successfully imposing the
Christian value, sinful nature is wrong. On the other hand, in Canto 8 Grendel’s eyes “gleamed in
the darkness, burned with a gruesome Light” (ll. 408-409). As Grendel heads to Herot on the
night of his final battle, his eyes are overwhelmed with the light illuminated by Herot. The Bard
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uses the symbol of light to explain that Herot is a place protected by God. The reader learns the
Christian characteristics of communion, goodness, and togetherness through the positive
implication of Herot. The author exposes Christian values through the comparison of Herot,
Heaven and light, and the place where Grendel lives, Hell and darkness. Anonymous was a
Christian monk, made obvious through the Christian values expressed by biblical allusions,
character archetypes, and symbolic archetypes in the epic Beowulf.